Pain 3 weeks after THR (right hip)

distantshores

I had THR exactly 3 weeks ago today. Although the hip was stage 4 and in a poor state before the op and I had limited range of movement I had very little pain and was able to function. Now 3 weeks after the op the pain has been terrible especially at night. I am lucky if I can sleep for more than about 1.5 hours. The leg on the operated side feels like a lump of lead and the muscles are hard and go into spasms. It's the thigh muscles and also a muscle that goes across the top of the thigh. Getting into bed is difficult due to muscular pain and the other night I couldn't get back into bed due to agonising pain and that was at 3.30 in the morning. The skin feels tight over the leg and the whole sensation is really unpleasant. I was quite fit before the op but that doesn't seem to have helped.

I can't take codeine and am taking paracetamol/ibuprofen plus 2 aspirin once a day.

I am doing the exercises and walking around the house using two crutches or the walker. I can't go upstairs and have not been out as have not been able to get shoes on - I have now bought a pair of shoes that I can put on.

I am beginning to think that something has gone wrong and regret having the operation now. Has anyone else experienced pain like this after the op? I also feel like someone has kicked me in the hip area. Any ideas?

Ellen

I think we need the hippies in don't you @distantshores ?

@Nurina @Janlyn @anxioussarah @Fran54 @MaryL44 @JPT @Trish9556

Can any of you offer any advice to distantshores?

I do hope things begin to improve for you soon.

Best wishes

Ellen.

[Deleted User]

At your stage it’s not expected to be painless but maybe you are too much in pain.Maybe, because you were ok before, you feel more pain. In my case, I was in in a tremendous agony before the surgery so now I feel much better. I’m still limping. I feel my muscles very tight and pulling from everywhere. I have the feeling of having a big lump on the side which is really that, a big scar healing. I hate my bed and my sleepless nights. Because I had the other leg done before, I’m accepting this like a part of the process and I know it’ll pass.
The healing process is not only physical. Our brain is very stubborn and refuses to accept a new situation. From the beginning, you’ve rejected and regretted the surgery and maybe this stress isn’t good. There are many medical studies about the relationship between brain and healing. I think you should go to your consultant and tell them everything you are unhappy with. Don’t go to the GP because they will not have a clue about what’s going on and they will prescribe you more pain killers. Physiotherapist are very helpful too and they know a lot about muscles pulling. If I were you and you can afford it, I’d go to an specialist one as soon as possible.

Take care x

chrissie58

I am so pleased you have said this as I am suffering with similar pain and lying in bed I cannot get comfortable at all, and find lying flat very difficult and painful. My scar goes around the back and it almost feels like something is trying to push through and tight pain across the top of my leg. Seeing your post tells me that this is perhaps normal except I was in severe pain with very little mobility prior to my op just over 2 weeks ago. I just cling to the fact that I do now have the ability to walk further on 2 crutches than I could before so it will all be worthwhile

Trish9556

https://community.versusarthritis.org/discussion/63720/pain-3-weeks-after-thr-right-hip

@distantshores

This all sounds very familiar to me - my hip didn't feel like it was mine and was extremely heavy for ages. It will pass.

You need to get some E45 cream (not the lotion in the bottles but the thick gloopy cream in tubs) and rub it into your scar liberally. as long as your wound has healed. This will help with the skin tightness and you can use the E45 as much as you like.

I still sit on the side of the bed and wheel myself around using my hands to get into the right position to sleep and use my good leg to help lift my operated leg.

Use a pillow under your knees to sleep - if this doesn't work, try it under your feet. Do your basic feet movements up and down if you wake up.

You might just need to get up and walk around if you can't sleep - I had my operation in May and still have restless nights for one reason or another so I get up, go downstairs, make some hot chocolate and listen to some classical music on my headphones while doing a jigsaw and then manage to get back to sleep.

You should be doing stairs by now - as my mother used to tell me, there's no such word as can't and told me to get on with it when I was very ill as a child. You should have been taught how to get up and downstairs whilst still in hospital. It is a basic requirement for leaving hospital. You use different muscles when using the stairs and not doing them will cause you problems at a later date. The longer you leave it, the harder it will be for you. By three weeks I was walking up and downstairs just using both hand rails. I left a stick at the top and bottom of the stairs to use while I was up or down.

You might find getting around and getting up and downstairs using sticks instead of crutches. Speak to your physio.

You have had major surgery and it will take time for your body to heal and for you to get back to full mobiity. It took me 6 weeks and the surgeon discharged me with a further three weeks before the physio did - that third session was paid for by me as a 'comfort blanket' but looking back I don't think I really needed it.

I hope yo manage to get out now you have some shoes to wear. Are you still wearing your surgical stockings? I was told to wear mine for 6 weeks and used to enjoy soaking my feet in my foot spa (it's electric, keep water warm, has a bubble and massage option) daily which helped with swelling when we changed the stockings over.

Trish

Trish9556

@chrissie58

I measured my scar once I had the dressing off and it was a massive 13 inches….a lot bigger than I thought it would be and it also goes around the back.

E45 cream in a tub rubbed in as many times as you like through the day will make it feel better once it is dry and healed.

I hated trying to sleep on my back as I was a side sleeper since birth (I'm now 68) and used to sleep raised up on pillows with a pillow beneath my knees or my feet. It will improve! As I've just put in my post to distant shores, sometimes at night you just need to get up and move. Going downstairs, making hot chocolate, doing a jigsaw puzzle and listening to classical music on my headphones is my go to for restless nights. Usually manage to get back to sleep after a while.

Keep up with your exercises, get out walking when you can - I used the lampost method - remember you have to walk back to your starting point but try to walk an extra lampost distance each time I went out.

Trish

Trish9556

thanks @Ellen for the tag :)

Trish9556

Fran54

@distantshores

my experience at that time was that my right leg still felt quite heavy and uncomfortable around the scar/wound area. Also I had a slight fluid build up around that area and had to take antibiotics for 7 days. I did have some pain on and off in my left groin but put that down to exercising muscles that had not been used properly for a long time. Apart from that I was relatively pain free ( before the op. I was in considerable pain ) so have no regrets in having the op. Everyone heals differently but if I were you I would contact the Hospital/Dept. where you had your operation and tell them everything that is worrying you. Sometimes worrying can make things seem worse so sharing can help alleviate this. I do hope that things improve soon for you and please keep us updated on your progress.

Take care🙂

Janlyn

@distantshores I actually felt exactly the same as you do now, the difference is that I was in such pain, with no quality of life before, that I felt grateful to be on the other side and had to believe I would get my life back although secretly I was a little worried, as reading other diaries I felt others were doing better than me.

The heaviness, the difficulty sleeping - at twelve months that is now history, but at the time I didn't sleep at all in bed as I was so uncomfortable. I just keep the radio on and waited until I couldn't wait any longer and got up and went downstairs. I could nod off in a chair.

I found it was physio that helped but the exercises had to be the correct ones and kept changing. I paid for extra as I realised I needed them to return to some kind of normal. I'm concerned you've not managed the stairs yet. I wasn't allowed out of hospital until I did and although terrified as I was on my own I did go up and down them several times a day as I could feel it was helpful to my recovery and I also wanted to be able to get out and about as normally as possible as soon as possible.

I think from the replies above we've mostly been feeling like you do now at this stage but I really think you should speak to your consultant or a physio to try to get some reassurance that all is well and get confirmation of what you need to do to help yourself now. I hear you saying you have regret and are feeling worse than you did previously but that condition could have deteriorated quickly as some of us found leaving us in no doubt we needed the surgery. That sounds to be what you are doubting now?

I would be a little concerned as to why your feet are still as swollen at three weeks, maybe you need to lie down with them raised? Maybe you do need to get out and walk a little more now you've shoes that fit? .I'm hoping soon you'll be telling us you've made more progress, sometimes it really can seem like we're not making progress then it happens very quickly.

Take care.

Janlyn

@chrissie58 I just wanted to say at two weeks you sound to be doing fine - it really is early days and I was at that stage at two weeks. In time you will feel more normal and once you can sleep on your side things should improve. It is really important to get the right exercises to make a full recovery and achieve your full potential. When we've been in so much pain and damaged pre-op it takes such a long time to get our muscles working properly again, but it really is worth the effort.

It was twelve months yesterday since my op and the difference in what I can now do compared to to twelve months ago is amazing - I hope you find the same.

distantshores

@Trish9556 @Janlyn I am not using the stairs because although I could easily go up I am absolutely terrified about coming down. I don't think that I am the only one to experience this. I worked with someone who had a close friend who couldn't use stairs and they kept him in hospital for 6 weeks! (it was some years ago). The practice in hospital using the stairs is a tick box exercise and as such is meaningless. It was less that 36 hours after the op and I was absolutely terrified walking along the corridor and she helped me up and down 1/2 steps and that was it - job done. I don't think "should" is very helpful at all and I will have to do the stairs when I am ready. The private physio is coming at the end of the month again so I will go through it with her and see.

@Janlyn It could have deteriorated quickly but I was diagnosed 14 years ago with moderately severe osteoarthritis and managed well for all those years and continued to work as well as travel all over the world during that time. I know it had deteriorated but right now my quality of life was better before than it is now and I have no idea whether/when it will improve.

Now I am even more worried after reading these replies especially about the swollen feet. I might contact the GP and the hospital today to ask about that.

distantshores

I've just sent a message to the surgeon's secretary to see if I can find out more about the swelling. The nurse who came to do the dressing the other day seemed to think it was fine. I still have a dressing on - not sure why she put another one on as there is no infection but she will come back on Monday to take it off and that will be that.

I think it might be better if I don't read forum posts anymore as it is causing me more anxiety to have people saying what I should or should not be able to do at this stage and then comparing myself to others.

NanaAnna

Hi @distantshores, I can really relate to the feelings of overwhelm at all the information available on here but I do hope you stay around!

Having a hip replacement is a really big deal and everybody's is so different in their pre- and post op experience. I can only imagine how you must feel having had so little pain before surgery and now dealing with a lot of pain. It's not at all surprising that you'd be doubting your decision and long sleepless nights only make that so much worse.

I'm 3 weeks post thr too and I also avoid going down one particular set of stairs in my house because they are very steep and quite frightening. I fortunately have a workaround to get to where I need to go but I'm in no hurry to push myself past a level where I feel safe. Only you can decide what is right for you.

As for the swelling, while I'm currently recovering differently from my 2nd hip replacement, last time I had a great deal of swelling in my whole leg/foot which really concerned me. It felt like it was going to spilt sometimes, it was so tight. It took sometime and I used a lot of ice and elevation but it settled completely by 3 months.

Wishing you all the best for the future, Anna

claudsl

Hi @distantshores

I'm sorry to hear you are having a rough time. Everyone recovers at their own pace and it's important not to overdo it in case you do more harm than good. It is a relatively big operation and 3 weeks is not a very long time so try to be patient with yourself and definitely don't compare yourself to others. There are so many different factors that play a part in recovery, such as age, overall health and even gender. However if you do feel you aren't improving definitely reach out to your GP/surgeon for a foll

Take care, Claudia x

Juester

I’m 4 months post op and my thigh is still very tight I’ve just been on holiday so have not been doing my exercises so I’m putting it down to that but I’m not sure I can walk fast and fairly long distances but I do know my stamina needs working on is anyone else like this

Janlyn

@Juester four months is really not long in the grand scheme of things and maybe now you're home if you get back to your exercises you will soon feel you are making progress. It might even be something simple. My thigh at the front was feeling tight and it was simply a matter of stretching it - raising my leg backwards as though I was trying to kick my bottom. It might be a different type of exercise you need but hopefully you'll work that out. It's really quite soon for you to be walking fast and long distances - it took me a lot longer, it was more like nine months when suddenly I felt strong again. I'd been getting about much earlier but the strength took time. It might be worth checking your iron levels too - I had my surgery delayed to get my iron up to an acceptable level and I found I felt so much better and stronger and after surgery I continued to take iron tablets and I feel they help.

Maybe worth just checking things out with a physio or your GP to check all is well but it does sound as though you are doing well - at four months I found holidays a struggle.